North Shropshire forgotten station may re-open...........

A short journey down to a forgotten North shropshire railway station may soon be possible from crewe,serving Baschurch and its surrounding villages The station originaly closed during doctor Beechings spell of closures and now all theese years later there are calls for the station to reopen and to serve North shropshire and beyond.As you will see from the report here there would not just be benefits to the surrounding villaes but towns like shrewsbury and telford would also gain important links.......If only we could get the same sort of response for the one time proposal of reopening Beeston station.

Crewe heritage centre final weekend

Next week will see another excellent season at Crewe Heritage centre draw to a close(other than special weekends during the winter),so If you havnt visited already this year why not take the opportunity and go along next saturday or sunday beetween 10am and 4pm.Below is a few pictures taken at the centre taken earlier today, they show the wide range of engines/locos on display as well as plenty of other Crewe and rail related exhibits in the hall(Bentley motors and a travelling post office to name but a few).Featured are 6233 The Duchess of Sutherland,6201 Princess Elizabeth,6009 The union of south africa......remember pop along and enjoy.For more information click here to see the heritage centre website.

Inside Crewe works(paint shop)

I found this old 35mm image of the Inside of what was known as the paint shop at Crewe works,I cannot recall when the picture was taken but have a feeling It would of been In the early 90s at one of the open days or when as a youngster fences were for hopping over to get a closer look at engines under repair at the Works.I find the whole scale of what the works once was fascinating and find it hard to visualise what the place must of been like at Its peak, that is now such a long way in the past.

MORE CHESHIRE RAIL DAYS

Crewe Station A tour (part one)..........................

A set of photos that are the start of a more detailed set which will highlight as many areas of Crewe station as I can(Including some of the stations hidden gems).The photos below are all of the station platforms and bays on the main lines of the station,there are a number of other platforms and bays that are both used and unused which I will show in more detail soon............CREWE SOUTH,SERVING THE MIDLANDS,LONDON,SHREWSBURY,STOKE ON TRENT AND DERBY

ON THE RIGHT IS PLATFORM 12(NORTH WALES) WITH 11 IN THE MIDDLE SERVING LIVERPOOL AND EDINBOROUGHPLATFORM 5 AND 6 SRVING ALL NORTH AND SOUTH DESINATIONS WITH THE HIGH SPEED THROUH LINES IN THE MIDDLE/AND FRIEGHT LINES,
AS YOU CAN SEE IT WAS ANOTHER RAINY DAY IN CREWE.......................

North Wales coast rover ticket..............

Arriva train wales offer a whole range of rover tickets covering a few or all of the counties in North wales(its your choice choosing from two to all counties/Varying prices).Rovers are an excellent way to discover the stunning scenery of Wales or even for a few trips to the sea side with the family.They arnet always advertised very well and restrictions on tickets can sometimes be complicated but not with this excellent service,with a excellent chester service in place the welsh border is less than 30 minutes away by train just click here to see all details of the service.

Crewe days...............They can be brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disapointing short spell at Crewe

A quick stop off on the way home from work at Crewe station provided little in terms of results,However the three excellent class 47s sit proudly(and gleaming) awaiting there next charter duties on the old Crewe diesel depot sidings and as ever the class 350 london midland livery(Euston/Birmingham) bound trains were in abundance.

Mid cheshire line re-opening campaign gathers pace

Below is an interesting article from the mid cheshire chronicle which is an interesting read for all those who work and travel to both Northwich and middlewich,your thoughts on the below proposals are always welcome.
Campaigners get platform for restoration of Northwich-Crewe rail link
Jul 29 2009 by Dave Goodban, Mid Cheshire Chronicle

A LONG-RUNNING battle to restore rail links from Northwich to Crewe is back on track.

Council chiefs have given their backing to a project to upgrade the obsolete line and reopen Middlewich Station for the first time in 50 years.

Supporters of the scheme say it is now ‘full steam ahead’ and rail users have welcomed the news, which follows a report by Railway Consultancy Ltd on behalf of the Middlewich Railway Steering Group (MRSG).

The dossier said upgrading the Northwich-Crewe line for passenger services and reopening Middlewich Station is viable and talks between project leaders, Network Rail and Northern Trains are imminent.

MRSG chairman Vernon Perkins said: “The option which provides a service from Northwich to Crewe via Middlewich far exceeded our expectations, providing a benefit-cost ratio which is substantially higher than the threshold required to take the project further.”

It is understood the cost of implementing the scheme could be as little as £1.5m – and rail bosses could rake in up to five times that amount in increased revenue.

Mid Cheshire Rail Users’ Association chairman John Oates told the Chronicle: “This is a great opportunity to do something really important for Northwich at relatively little cost – the infrastructure is already there.”

He said the project would mean passengers travelling from Northwich would be able to change at Crewe and go straight to major cities including Birmingham and London.

And, he claimed, the plans could be realised ‘in less than five years’.

Cheshire West and Chester council’s environment portfolio holder, Neil Ritchie, added: “A new direct rail service between Northwich and Crewe via Middlewich would be of great benefit to all the county’s residents.”

The report also said the project would reduce the volume of people commuting by car and the local impact of climate change, and will help stem the growth of fuel costs over the next 20 years.

With a population of 13,600, Middlewich is currently the largest town in Cheshire without a railway station.

Stakeholders have been calling for the return of a passenger service in the town for more than 15 years.

The Holmes Chapel Road station has not been used since 1959.

Cllr Ritchie said: “This paves the way for taking the scheme to the next stage, including getting the all-important backing from the rail industry.”

Steam tours through crewe.........

Over the next week there are two uk steam railtours coming through or departing from Crewe,1st up is the scarborough flyer which is scheduled to depart from Crewe at 07:10 on friday the 28th of august heading off to scarborough and then returning to Crewe at approx 21:49.The tour is to be hauled by LNER A4 Class 4-6-2 no 60009 Union of South Africa (Courtesy of the railway touring company) the train is listed as fully booked.Next up is the Cumbrian mountain express which is to be hauled by one of three engines either 60009 as above/46201 princess Elizabeth/46233 Duchess of sutherland due to depart Crewe at 06:08 and returning at approx 22:08, The locos will be calling at carsile in beetween and the tour is courtesy of the railway touring company again.

Very sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just to say how sorry I am that the blog has been missing/not updated over the past few months.Thanks to a certain internet provider I have been without a connection for nearly three months,now finally with a new supplier and a great internet speed blogging just got a lot easier.............sorry again but hopefully there will be no future problems and the blog will go back to being updated on a regular basis.If you have any stories or pictures you would like to see included on the blog please feel free to leave a comment/e.mail and I will do my best to get them on to the blog page.Many thanks scott.

Crewe station DRS class 66 photos(july 29/09)

Class 66425 and 66433 awaiting a signal to head south from Crewe station,on there way to the gresty road depot..........................66428 takes the lead.